Waking Up
by Shelby Letner
Summary: Approximately two years after the events in Breaking Dawn, Charlie finally discovers the truth about his daughter, Bella.


Waking Up

I never saw this coming. Me, Police Chief Charles Swan, married to Sue Clearwater of the Quileute tribe. Of course, there were a lot of things I never saw coming.

I never saw my first wife taking our infant daughter and leaving me. I never saw my daughter choosing to live with me two years before she graduated. I definitely never saw coming anything that happened to her after that. I never saw my good friend Harry Clearwater dying in the midst of my daughter's turmoil. Now here I was, married to his wife and helping to care for her two children, not that they needed much caring for.

What Jacob showed me, a smart, good-looking boy turning into a huge wolf, if you could call it a wolf. It was monstrous, straight out of a nightmare. It was probably in Bella's ever-present nightmares. No wonder she was always restless in her sleep. I got the feeling that Sue's kids could do the same thing, though I never asked outright. I think a lot of the kids here on the reservation, my new home, could. I never asked questions. Jacob told me I couldn't when he showed me and I've never been one to need to know everything. As long as those around me are safe and happy, that's all I care about.

So I was caught a little off guard, though not thoroughly surprised, when Sue invited me to the Quileute elder council meeting. She and her kids always went, along with Billy and Jacob and many of the other kids who were also…wolves. It was hard to think of them that way, hard to believe it. I guess Bella had dealt with it a long time ago. That and more; I didn't know how much more.

Bella was different now, not just more mature or something, but physically. She looked so different. She was beautiful. Not that she was ever ugly but now she was almost literally radiant and her eyes changed from the same deep brown as mine to a strange amber color, just like the other Cullens. I'd never given them much thought before Bella became involved with them. They never caused any trouble and Dr. Cullen was more than well-respected.

Now that my daughter was one of them and I knew there was something out of the ordinary going on, I noticed how they all looked the same. If the kids were really foster kids, why did they look so similar? Jacob said I couldn't ask questions, not shouldn't, _couldn't_, and when a boy you thought you knew turns into a wolf before your eyes, you believe what he says.

"I'm invited?" I asked skeptically. I thought for sure it was only for the Quileutes by blood. They're very into that kind of thing.

"You're my husband now. You are welcome. We tell our stories at council meetings…you could find out the truth. The truth about…everything." She looked at me with careful eyes.

She knew I hadn't wanted to know. To be honest, I was afraid. Was Bella a wolf, too? Why would she be so different? How were the Cullens related to the Quileutes? How did Nessie come to be?

My granddaughter Renesmee, Nessie for short, was a complete mystery. She grew faster than any normal human ever but at least she looked mostly normal. I tried not to think about it. I couldn't ask questions, anyway. Now I was part of the tribe. Did I have access to all of the secrets now? Could I ask questions? Did they want me to know? Would it make them more comfortable? Would I want to know the truth?

"I don't know, Sue. I'll feel," I searched for the right word, "funny."

"You don't have to, of course. The kids just thought you might want to. I think Jacob is tired of keeping the secret from you. And Seth is bursting at the seams!" She laughed. "They respect your right to choose, though. This was thrust upon them and they understand if you choose not to come. Just know that I would love to have you at my side."

It would make them more comfortable, of course. I was the odd man out and my own wife could not talk about what was going on in her children's lives because I was afraid of the truth. Maybe I could hear one story, excuse myself, ponder that one and then hear another next time. One story couldn't hurt, could it?

"Well, maybe I'll have a hot dog or two. I do have to work tomorrow, though. I can't be out too late." She seemed relieved.

I was suddenly nervous, frightened even. It was too late; I couldn't go back on my word. I'd agreed to one story and I would hear that one if I never heard another in my life.

It was a quiet walk to the meeting. I was contemplating what I would hear and I guessed Sue was contemplating how I would react. She knew me so well although we'd only been close for two years.

Our engagement was sudden and short. Ours was a relationship of convenience and mutual loneliness. We took care of each other, understood each other, and helped the ever-returning hurt go away.

When we made it to the bonfire, most of the kids were already there. Billy was there and Old Quil, the other two elders beside my wife. We ate hot dogs and watched as the kids devoured package after package. Then it got quiet and Billy began the first story. Just one, I said to myself.

Billy told a story about spirit warriors who protected their tribe long ago. He told of a betrayal leaving their chief trapped in the spirit world until he began to share a body with a wolf and, eventually, was able to change physically into his true spirit form, however _that_ worked. As long as they continued to change, they didn't age. It sounded so unreal. It was unreal. Yet I'd seen the same thing with my own eyes.

Would Jacob never age? What about Seth and Leah? They were part of my life now. Would they watch me grow old with their mother while they stayed their young selves? Jacob looked at me across the fire and winked. But what did that have to do with my daughter, my granddaughter? I said one story and then I'd leave. Why couldn't I pick up my feet? The answer I'd been trying not to think about was so close. Could I really wait until the next council meeting? It was like leaving a game after only the first quarter when you know the teams are evenly matched. It could be anybody's game and you can't just walk out. Well, maybe just one more story. My fear returned but I was slowly giving in to my long-suppressed curiosity. Sue looked at me warily and I smiled at her, though I think it may have been a little weak. I didn't handle strange things well.

Old Quil continued with the next story. It chilled me to the bone. He told of beautiful, red-eyed creatures of stone who drank blood and were nearly impossible to kill. The only people I'd heard of who drank blood were vampires. I didn't know they were hard like that, though.

Vampires were just a myth, anyway. That couldn't be what he was talking about. It sounded just like a scary story we used to tell around campfires as kids, only we didn't turn into wolves like the kids around this fire. The chief's wife sacrificing her life for the tribe, it was like a movie. What did it have to do with Bella? The story progressed with Quileutes turning into wolves when any of these vampire-like creatures came near their people, for years up to the not-so-distant past of Billy's grandfather.

There was, apparently, a relatively large group of those creatures who came to them and made a treaty with them.

"So the Cold Ones with the yellow eyes promised not to harm the Quileutes in return for us allowing them to live in peace. There were more of them than of us and so Ephraim Black, instead of trying to fight, agreed. They kept their part of the treaty and moved on after a few years. The next two generations had no need for the wolves. That all changed in this generation." Cold Ones with yellow eyes…Bella and the Cullens had more golden eyes, really. Why was I here? I was starting to get frustrated and was about to leave when Quil looked at Sue and she began the next story.

I supposed it would be rude of me to leave just when my wife began speaking. It would probably hurt her feelings, although I knew she would understand and wouldn't hold a grudge. The gentleman in me won out over my temper. It didn't look like I was going to find out anything worth knowing, after all. I may as well be polite.

"Six years ago, the yellow-eyes came back. They had added two to their number but otherwise hadn't changed at all. They still kept the treaty but the changes began in our young ones." She looked at Leah with sympathetic eyes. Leah stared into the fire. Was she the first female to experience this transformation? Was I really just accepting this all as truth? But it was true. I'd seen it, hadn't I?

"Our whole way of life began to change when one of the Cold Ones took a human girl for his mate." My heart stopped. She couldn't possibly mean…no. Just listen. Don't get ahead of the story. "The presence of the Cold Ones drew others, like them but unlike them, and the girl was in danger. They left in order to protect her and while they were gone, Ephraim Black's great-grandson, Jacob Black fell in love with the girl." Who was Jacob Black in love with? I only knew of one girl. Although Nessie…no. I wasn't ready to think about _that_ at all.

"But the bond forged between her and the Cold Ones was too strong and they could not stay away. An evil cold one created an army of crazed newborn blood-drinkers to kill her in return for the death of her mate at the hands of the yellow-eyes. At Jacob's suggestion our pack fought with the yellow-eyes and defeated the army, not only to protect the girl, but our own people. The treaty was still in effect but there were now bonds of friendship that would leave the door open between our two worlds.

The Cold One took the girl to be his wife and through a miracle, she bore them a daughter.

Before the birth our pack was divided. The alpha, Sam Uley, wanted to kill the girl and her child, which he thought would bring harm to us all. Jacob would not allow that and, being the rightful heir to the pack leadership, took any who wished to join him and formed his own pack. They protected the girl until the child was born, which was a much shorter time than for any human child.

The birth would have killed her if the Cold Ones had not made her one of their own immediately. Jacob gave permission for the treaty to be broken in order to save the girl's life, but he thought they were too late.

Believing the girl he loved was dead and blaming what he thought was an abomination, he prepared to kill the infant. But when he saw her, he no longer felt anything but love. He found his true soul-mate in her and our pack no longer had any right to harm her.

She was found not to be a danger to man, as she lived on animal blood like the yellow-eyes, though she was not cold and hard like them. Blood flowed through her veins.

The self-appointed leaders of the Cold Ones' world found out about her and came to administer justice against what they, too, thought was an abomination and both of our packs prepared to fight to protect her. They were persuaded that she was not a danger and were forced to leave but the yellow-eyes believe that one day they will come back to destroy them…as well as us. And so this burden must be carried by this generation and those to come for as long as the yellow-eyes are among us."

Jacob smiled dreamily and said, "I don't know about you guys but I'm in it for the long haul." There were several groans and snickers around the fire.

I was speechless. I'd always been a man of few words but I was speechless.

My wife looked at me with soft, questioning eyes. Did I understand now? Was it all clear now? Did all of the last six years make perfect sense now? Did I still love my daughter and granddaughter, my son-in-law and his family?

I would love Bella and Nessie no matter what as long as I lived. They were my own flesh and blood; at least Bella _was. _What was I thinking? Am I supposed to believe that my daughter chose to become a vampire? Is that what they were telling me? My daughter went out of her way to become something inhuman? How exactly like Bella. She was always unpredictable, but this! Was I really going to believe everything I had just heard? Evil vampires were out to destroy my granddaughter, who happened to be the true love of my best friend's son? What kind of soap opera was this, anyway? I sat for over an hour staring at the fire.

One by one and two by two people began leaving. I remained still, just staring, pondering, deciding whether or not to believe, whether or not it was possible. I'd seen Jacob become a wolf but he was still just Jacob. I'd seen Bella become…different…but she was still Bella. Why couldn't she be a vampire? They said those "yellow-eyes" lived on animal blood. How different was that from a nice steak tar-tar at the Lodge?

By the time the fire had died down and I came back to reality, I realized that it was just me and Sue, my faithful wife, sitting there. I kissed her deeply but not wildly. She was my anchor now and I knew I was hers. Our kids were not normal and we still had to be there to support them. I decided right then that I would support Bella and Edward and all of their family. I was now in this thing by blood and by marriage so I might as well tighten my belt and move on.

I thought of all the hurt Bella had caused me before her new life: her leaving and almost getting killed (was there more to that story than I knew?), her lifelessness after Edward left, her uncertain relationship with Jacob, when I thought she was dying, which, apparently, she was. As I looked into my wife's eyes, I saw my emotions reflected there. Our kids' situations were different but we both had bitterness, even anger; we also had love. More than any other emotion we felt, we felt love for our kids. Now that I knew the truth I'd been so desperately trying to ignore, now that I knew, I could move on. Bella was right; her mother couldn't have handled this. I was stronger in that way and my wife was, too.

As we got up, put out the fire, and walked home, we didn't say a word but I knew I was okay. I knew that she knew I was okay. We would handle this together. All I could think about was how much I wanted to see my granddaughter the next day. I'd give Bella a big hug and give Edward a firm handshake. After all, I wouldn't have Nessie if it weren't for him. Jacob was certainly a lucky man. No…still not ready to go _there_, yet.


End file.
